We packed much yesterday, and we pack a whole lot more today. By the end, our inventory list reads something like “orange shorts: ram,” “blue shirt: network cable.”
We sign what Sameer, the brains behind this project, affectionately calls the “if you die forms,” I listen to our faculty advisor read off some of the recent travel warnings, tell him not to worry, that “I’ll keep my head on (he didn’t appreciate the joke),” we gather Penn Engineering loot to give those that help us along the way, and we’re cleared to go. One overcrowded taxi ride later, we make it to the airport with plenty of time to clear the carnival that is getting permission to board a plane.
You think airport security’s fun for you? Try carrying through 2 book bags full of strange-looking computer equipment. Or, you could save yourself having to get searched at every point and just trust me that it’s not at all enjoyable. Fortunately, the Transportation Security Agency workers at Philadelphia International mainly just gave up on searching after I explained what a few of the random objects in my bag were. In one line, the x-ray guy was actually falling asleep as my friend passed through.
So I suppose this is where the day ends, with us on a British Airways flight to our London layover. I sleep a little and read a lot of Chuck Pahluniak (sp), the dude that wrote fight club. His new book “Lullaby” is definitely out there, but in a good way: his characters are so weird and their stories so strange that I can’t exactly care too much about anything, much less that I’m cramped onto a plane for 12-odd hours...